Railway-car.



B. L. STEPHENS.

RAILWAY GAB..

APPLIGATION FILED JAN.10, 1913.

L1 3 1,6 8. Patented Mar. 9, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

THE MORRIS PETERS CO., PHoTo-Ll'rHD., WASHING mN, D c

E. L. STEPHENS.

RAILWAY CAR.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 1o, 191s. i Q3 3h61@ Patented M3129, 1915. 3 sHET-.Tswmm 2. Hg 5.

@gau ma HENORRIS PETERS CO.4 PHOTOALITHO.. WASHING rON, D. C.

Patented Mar.9,1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

THE MORRIS PETERS co, FjHoro-LITHO.. WASHING 'UN D. c

EDWARD L. STEPHENS, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

RAILWAY- CAR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mal'. 9, 1915.

Application led January 10, 1913. Serial N o. 741,327.

T0 all whom t may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD L. STEPHENS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Railway-Car, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cars intended particularly for street railways, and the main object of the invention is to provide a car with relatively low floor, and to decrease the height of the steps which the passengers must ascend in entering the car.

A further object of the invention is to increase the seating capacity of the car.

Another object of the invention is to facilitate and expedite the entrance and exit of the passengers.

The invention is particularly intended for application to pay-as-you-enter cars and in such connection an object of the invention is to bring the exit and entrance passages to the center of the car, enabling the conductor to always have control and oversight over all such passages and relieve the motorman from responsibility or attention in connection with such passages, so that the motorman can give his undivided attention to the operation of the car.

Another object of the invention is to provide convenient means for operation of the gates for said passages.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and referring thereto: Figure 1 is a horizontal section of the car. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the car on line aaa-m3 in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a section on line ait-:c4 in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section showing another form of the invention. Fig. 6 is a section on line .c6-m6 in Fig. 5.

The car comprises a floor 1 having a frame 2 and trucks 3 on which said frame is mounted, the frame 2 of the floor serving as a central depressed or low portion 4:, carrying a platform 5, the floor of the car being divided into two ortions separated by such platform, such oor portions being somewhat higher than the platform so that the end floor portions 2 may be of sufficient height to allow the trucks 3 to turn thereunder, while the platform 5 is low enough to permit passengers to ascend onto said plat form from the ground by means of a single intermediate step 6 carried by the frame 2.

Adjacent to the central platform 5, the car body is provided with a closed portion 8, having sides 7 and end walls 9 provided with a passage 10 for communication between said closed portion 8 and the central platform 5 and with a passage 11 leading from the closed portion 8 to an open platform 12, there being an open platform 12 at each end of the car, provided with a railing or partial inclosing means 13 for preventing ingress or egress, and with an end wall 14 at each end of the car. A roof 15 extends continuously over the car from end to end thereof, so as to cover the central end and platforms, as well as the closed portion 8. Passenger seats 16 are provided in the end portions. By doing away with any ingress or egress portions at these end portions, I am enabled to utilize to the fullest advantage the space therein for the reception of seats, for example, as shown, seats 16 may be provided at the outer end portion of the end platforms at each side of the motormans seat or station 18. The seats 19 in the closed portion 8 may be of any desired arrangement. The passages 11 between the closed portion and the open-end platforms may be provided with sliding gates 21.

The central platform 5 is preferably provided with two posts 28 at each side, dividing the side of the platform into a central entrance 24 and two side exits 25. Gates or closure members are provided at each side for closing the respective entrances and exits 24 and 25, and in order to facilitate the control of the passengers in entering and leaving the car, barriers are provided, consisting of posts 26 extending from the floor of the platform 5 to the roof of the car and cross bars 27 connecting said posts, said barriers being opposite to one another and to the car entrances 10, and being spaced from one another to provide an ingress passage between them, and are spaced from the side and ends of platform 5, to provide passage ways at each side and each end of each barrier, except as such ways are closed by the gates. The gate 28 for the ingress passage 24 is hinged to one of the posts 28 and swings inwardly against one of said barriers. The gates 29 for the egress passages are hinged to the respective posts 23 adjacent the said passages and swing inwardly to position to close the space or passageway between said posts and the corresponding barrier, when the exits are opened.

The conductors station is on the center platform 5 at one side or the other, according to the direction of movement of the car, andfif it is desired that the conductor be seated, the conductors seat, indicated at 30 may be supported in a socket 31, there being such a socket at each side of the center platform, midway of the length of the platform, leaving room between the seat and the adjacent barrier posts 26 to provide a passage from the ingress passageway 24 to the entrances 10 for the seating portions of the car. If he desires, however, the conductor may stand alongside the lbarrier bar 27 at either side, as the ingress passageway between the barriers is sufficiently narrow to enable him to take fares from the passengers whether he is sitting on the seat 30 or standing alongside of either of the barriers. Means are preferably provided for operating the egress gates 29 at either side of the car, from an operating handle located adjacent to the conductors station. F or this purpose an operating handle 33 is provided for the gates 29 at each side of the car, said handle being carried by a vertical shaft 34 having an arm 35 at its lower end connected by a rod 36 to one arm of a toggle 37, the knuckle 38 of said toggle being guided by sliding on a cross bar 39 extending under the car body and the ends of the arms of said toggle being pivotally connected to pivot shafts 41 for the respective gates 29, so that by turning the handle 33, the gates may be swung open or closed. Stops 44 are provided for limiting the movement of the arms 35. Arms 35 in moving to position to close the gates pass the dead center position with respect to the pivotal connections of said arms 35 and rods 36 so that when the gates have been closed, they are locked in closed position until again opened by the handle, and it is not possible to open the gates by pressing thereon. In order to leave the exit passageways as unobstructed as possible in the swinging movement of the exit gates 29, said gates are preferably made to fold in the middle on a hinge 42, and a radius bar 43 pivoted on the bottom of the car, extends out beyond the floor and is connected to the outer end of the gate 29, so as to cause said gate to fold on itself or 4double up, unless it is swinging to open position, as shown in Fig. 4. These exit gates may, however, be made as shown at 29 in Figs. 5 and 6, without the provision for folding,

` the construction being otherwise as above described.

The operation of the car is as follows: The gates 28 and 29 on the side toward the other track are closed. The ingress gate 28 on the outer side is swung to open against one of the barrier posts 26. The egress gates 29 on the outer side are normally closed. Passengers enter through the normally open ingress passage 24 and traversing the space between the barriers, pass in front of the conductor, who collects the fare and allows the passengers to pass around the barriers and enter the entrances 10 of the car. In case a passenger desires to alight, the conductor will open the egress gates 29 at the outer side and the passenger will pass out at passage 10 through the egress passage 25.

By placing the steps for entering and leaving the car at the center portion of the car body, they are removed from the supporting trucks 3 so that in designing the car body it is not necessary to allow clearance for these steps and the main portions 2 of the car 4 may, therefore, be made lower than where the steps have to be allowed for in the swinging movement of the trucks. This in conjunction with the depression of the center platform 5 below the end portions of the car floor, brings the center platform so near the ground that a single intermediate step is suflicient to enable a person to step onto or oil" of the car.

What I claim is:

1. A car body having end portions provided with floors, a central platform between said end portions and connected therewith, said central platform having entrances and exits at each side, gates for controlling said entrances and exits, the entrances being oppositely disposed, and barriers extending transversely of the platform and terminating short of the edges thereof, the gates controlling the entrance openings being adapted to swing into contact with the barriers.

2. A car body comprising a floor having a central platform and having walls at the sides and ends of the car body inclosing the end portions of the car body at each side of said central platform to prevent ingress and egress except at said central platform, walls dividing said central platform from said end portions and provided with passages, barriers on said central platform facing the respective passages in said walls and spaced from one another and from said walls and from the sides of the central platform to provide passages extending between the barriers, between the walls and said barriers, and between the sides of the platform and said barriers, and gates at each side of said platform for closing the sides of the platform, one of the said gates at each side of the platform serving as an entrance gate and being mounted to swing against one of said barriers when the gate is opened.

3. A car body comprising a floor having a central platform and having walls at the sides and ends of the car body inclosing the end portions of the car body at each side of said central platform to prevent ingress Y and egress except at said central platform, walls dividing said central platform from said end portions and provided with passages, barriers on said central platform facing the respective passages in said walls and spaced from one another and from said walls and from the sides of the central platform to provide passages extending between the barriers, between the walls and said barriers, and between the sides of the platform and said barriers, and gates at each side of said platform for closing the sides of the platform, said gates comprising a central entrance gate at each side of the platform adapted to swing against one of said barriers when the gate is in opened position and an exit gate at each side of said central entrance gate, said exit gate being opposite the space between said barriers and the passages leading to the end portions of the car body from the central platform.

4C. A car body comprising a floor having a central platform and having walls at the sides and ends of the car body inclosing the end portions of the car body at each side of said central platform to prevent ingress and egress except at said central platform, walls dividing said central platform from said end portions and provided with passages,-

barriers on said central platform facing the respective passages in said walls and spaced from one another and from said walls and from the sides of the central platform to provide passages extending between the barriers, between the walls and said barriers, and between the sides of the platform and said barriers, and gates at each side of said platform for closing the sides of the platform, said gates comprising a central entrance gate at each side of the platform adapted to swing against one of said barriers when the gate is in opened position and an exit gate at each side of said central entrance gate, said exit gate being opposite the space between said barriers and the passages leading to the end portions of the car body from the central platform, said exit gates swinging to close the spaces between the said barriers and the side of the platform when said gates are in position to open the exits.

5. A car body comprising a ioor having a central platform and having walls at the sides and ends of the car body inclosing the end portions of the car body at each side of said central platform to prevent ingress and egress except at said central platform, walls dividing said central platform from said end portions and provided with passages, barriers on said central platform facing the respective passages in said walls and spaced from one another and from said walls and from the sides of the central platform to provide passages extending between the barriers, between the walls and said barriers, and between the sides of the platform and said barriers, gates at each side of said platform for closing the sides of the platform, said gates comprising a central entrance gate at each side of the platform, an exit gate at each side of said central entrance gate, said exit gate being opposite the space between said barriers and the passages leading to the end portions of the platform from the central platform, said exit gates swinging to close the spaces between the said barriers and the side of the platform when said gates are in position to open the exits, and

manually operated means on said central platform for operating both of the exit gates at one side simultaneously.

6. A car body comprising a floor having a central platform and having walls at the sides and ends of the car body inclosing the end portions of the car body at each side of said central platform to prevent ingress and egress except at said central platform, walls dividing said central platform from said end portions and provided with passages, barriers on said central platform facing the respective passages in said walls and spaced from one another and from said walls and from the sides of the central platform to provide passages extending between the barriers, between the walls and said barriers, and between the sides of the platform and said barriers, gates at each side of said platform for closing the sides of the platform, said gates comprising a central entrance gate at each side of the platform, an exit gate at each side of said central entrance gate, said exit gate being opposite the space between said barriers and the passages leading to the end portions of the car body from the central platform, said exit gates swinging to close the spaces between the said barriers and the side of the platform when said gates are in position to open the exits, manually operated means on said central platform for operating both of the exit gates at one side simultaneously, and means for locking said gates in closed position.

7. A car body comprising a floor having a central platform and having walls at the sides and ends of the car body inclosing the end portions of the car body at each side of said central platform to prevent ingress and egress except at said central platform, walls dividing said central platform from said end portions and provided with passages, barriers on said central platform facing the respective passages in said walls and spaced from one another and from said walls and from the sides of the central platform to provide passages extending between the barriers, between the walls and said barriers, and between the sides of the platform and said barriers, gates at each side of said platform for closing the sides of the platform,

said gates comprising a central entrance gate at each side of the platform, an exit gate at each side of said central entrance gate, said exit gate being opposite the space between said barriers and the passages leading to the end portions of the ear body from the central platform, said eXit gates swinging to close the spaces between the said barriers and the side of the platform When said gates are in position to open the exits, manually operated means on said central platform for operating both of the eXit gates at one side simultaneously, each of said eXit gates being formed in two parts hinged to Jfold on each other, and a radius bar con- 15 neeted to the platformV and to the hinged gate to Cause said gate to fold as it is moved to open position.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California this 2O 27 th day of December, 1912.

EDWARD L. STEPHENS.

In presence of- ARTHUR P. KNIGHT, MARTHA M. LANGE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

